Movie Monday: Greek Mythology

All right, Movie Monday followers. I only have one movie featured today since I spent most of the holiday weekend out and about with friends. I hope everyone else had an enjoyable extended weekend like myself. :-)


Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief



Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) is a troubled teen who has been dealing with dyslexia, ADHD, and a problematic stepfather (Joe Pantoliano) for most of his life. While on a field trip to a museum, he is attacked by a Fury, which causes him to find out that he is the son of Poseidon (Kevin McKidd) and that he is in danger. Zeus (Sean Bean) is accusing Percy of stealing his lightning bolt and has been given 14 days to return it, or else there will be war against the Gods. So Percy and his friend Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) head to Camp Half-Blood to train. While at camp, Percy realizes that his Mom (Catherine Keener) is being held hostage by Hades (Steve Coogan) and decides to go rescue her. He and Grover team up with Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) and go on a quest across the United States to find Hades Underworld.

When I first saw the movie preview in 2009, it caught my interest. I have always loved studying Greek mythology and here was a movie (based on a book series) that mixed those stories with modern day aspects. I didn't hear much positive hype over it, so I decided to wait until it was out on DVD before viewing it. I actually started watching it a few weeks ago, but my *wonderful* cable box decided to spazz out. I ended up buying the DVD and watching it that way. What I noticed throughout the movie were the similarities in themes to Harry Potter: a boy thinking he is just average when really they are possessed with unique abilities, part of a book series, and films directed/produced by Chris Columbus. The movie just had that same vibe to it as Harry Potter, except with more modern day elements (the music, references to High School Musical and the economic recession.)

I really enjoyed seeing a lot of my favorite Greek Gods/Goddesses and other mythological beings in this movie, especially with who was cast to play the roles. Uma Thurman as Medusa, Rosario Dawson as Persephone, and Pierce Brosnan as Chrion (also the actors listed above) were enjoyable to me in their roles. the story was amazing, but I need to read the books since I heard that the movie did not do the first book justice. I enjoyed seeing the group travel across the country in search of the pearls needed to get to the Underworld. The scene when in Las Vegas had a few surprises, in the forms of Lady Gaga and Ke$ha (both had songs playing in that part of the movie). When they finally get to Los Angeles and find the portal behind the Hollywood sign (leading to the Underworld), my first thoughts were "Of course L.A. is the obvious place to find Hades lair... Hello??? Sin City!!!" This movie exceeded my expectations and I really enjoyed watching it. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars